In 1868, Jo March is a teacher in New York City. She goes to an editor, Mr. Dashwood, who agrees to publish a story she has written. Her sister Amy, in Paris with their Aunt March, sees their childhood friend Laurie and invites him to a party. There, she becomes angry at his drunken behavior, and he mocks her for spending time with wealthy businessman Fred Vaughn. In New York, Jo is hurt when Friedrich Bhaer, a professor infatuated with her, constructively criticizes her writing, and she ends their friendship. After receiving a letter that her younger sister Beth’s illness has worsened, Jo returns home.